11 Things in Your Home That Are Making You Unhappy

When you walk into a room, pay attention to how you feel. Do your surroundings inspire you? Or do you experience a vaguely persistent "blah" feeling? If the latter rings true, you might want to take a second look at the decor and clutter within the space. Surprisingly, these things can have an impact on your day-to-day emotions, according to experts.

Kids' Stuff

Kids' Stuff

It's not just a few toys on the floor — it's the constant, ever-rising daily tide of toys, clothes, accessories, and even artwork. "Kid clutter makes parents anxious because it is so difficult to clean up and to find a space to keep it, so it worsens the feeling of being out of control – a feeling that so many parents already have around raising kids, when things aren't going smoothly," says psychologist and author Dr. Susan Bartell.

The overflowing toy box also can be a Pandora's box of triggers. "It also makes parents feel like the house is never clean; that others will judge them negatively, and so they judge themselves harshly because they aren't more 'perfect' at housekeeping. Parents also question how they are spending their money when they see so much clutter —that they have spent such a fortune on SO much stuff that their kids aren't using, which is a waste of money. Finally, it is emotionally draining to sort through the clutter in search of wanted items."

But kids' stuff can be one of the easier categories for decluttering, according to Dr. Bartell: "A recent study by SpareFoot.com found that one-third of parents believe they could get rid of more than 50% of their child's toys without them noticing!"

Lena Granefelt

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Heirlooms and gifts

Heirlooms and gifts

Your aunt had great intentions when she passed down that fine figurine collection to you. But instead of thinking of her every time you see them, you feel a strong sense of defeat whenever you see the box. "We hold onto heirlooms/gifts even though we don't like or enjoy them because we feel guilty giving them away," says Dr. Bartell. "They weigh us down emotionally and cause physical clutter. We keep things that don't match our sense of style, and we then don't have space for items that would truly bring us joy."

Kids' Stuff

It's not just a few toys on the floor — it's the constant, ever-rising daily tide of toys, clothes, accessories, and even artwork. "Kid clutter makes parents anxious because it is so difficult to clean up and to find a space to keep it, so it worsens the feeling of being out of control – a feeling that so many parents already have around raising kids, when things aren't going smoothly," says psychologist and author Dr. Susan Bartell.

The overflowing toy box also can be a Pandora's box of triggers. "It also makes parents feel like the house is never clean; that others will judge them negatively, and so they judge themselves harshly because they aren't more 'perfect' at housekeeping. Parents also question how they are spending their money when they see so much clutter —that they have spent such a fortune on SO much stuff that their kids aren't using, which is a waste of money. Finally, it is emotionally draining to sort through the clutter in search of wanted items."

But kids' stuff can be one of the easier categories for decluttering, according to Dr. Bartell: "A recent study by SpareFoot.com found that one-third of parents believe they could get rid of more than 50% of their child's toys without them noticing!"

Lena Granefelt

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Heirlooms and gifts

Your aunt had great intentions when she passed down that fine figurine collection to you. But instead of thinking of her every time you see them, you feel a strong sense of defeat whenever you see the box. "We hold onto heirlooms/gifts even though we don't like or enjoy them because we feel guilty giving them away," says Dr. Bartell. "They weigh us down emotionally and cause physical clutter. We keep things that don't match our sense of style, and we then don't have space for items that would truly bring us joy."

Ian Cumming

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Books You No Longer Love

Books carry a surprising amount of emotional weight: The very idea of going through stacks and shelves can be draining, even for the most avowed book lovers. "Book inspire such strong emotions because they have been portals into other worlds, they gave us other lives and expanded imaginations," says Christina Waters, PhD, author of Inside the Flame: The Joy of Treasuring What You Already Have. "We tend to keep those that have been with us during important times in our lives. A favorite novel when we were growing up carries our youthful dreams in its pages. That book of poetry given by a sweetheart is steeped in the feelings we had for each other. It's like giving up a piece of our lives to let go of a beloved book."

Newton Daly

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Your Childhood Keepsakes

You'll never give up your favorite doll or teddy bear, but the less-important artifacts from childhood, your teen years, and even college can be tough to part with. Yet, their presence can take an emotional toll. "Facing up to the fact that a former treasure no longer holds its old magic is to acknowledge that we ourselves have changed. And often that realization forces us to ask ourselves, okay, what now would be a source of happiness?" says Waters. "Change always brings up questions of who we are and what we want out of our lives. To find that the collection of dolls we've had since childhood no longer enchants, is to be forced to grow up. Always a tricky prospect."

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Collections That No Longer Bring Joy

A once-beloved collection can become burdensome when you're no longer into the items. Here, it's not just the space the items take up, but the connection you once had to the items. "The collection is associated with memories of a time in life or a person, and so the difficulty with parting can be the unconscious feeling you are abandoning the memory or person," says Dr. Gail Saltz , psychiatrist and host of "The Power of Different" podcast."It helps to create your own very tiny memorial to the memory, like a note describing them or one piece that signifies the rest of the collection kept in a special place so you can know that removing the rest is not forgetting the person or memory."

Steve Outram

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Unused Hobby Supplies

Maybe you really, really got swept up into the idea of becoming a knitter, accumulating more supplies than a craft store because you were sure you would love it. Years later, all that stuff is still where you left it. "Abandoned or unused hobby supplies are a form of aspirational clutter. It's much easier to collect the materials for a hobby than to make the time and effort to pursue it," says Francine Jay, the blogger behind Miss Minimalist and author of The Joy of Less. "And we feel that as long as we have a closet full of yarn, we're a knitter — even if we haven't touched our needles in months (or years!)."

That stash perpetuates a particularly strong cycle of guilt and anxiety. "We often feel guilty for spending money on supplies we haven't used; so we stow them away, thinking that if we hang on to the stuff for a hobby, we haven't given up on it (or failed in our pursuit of it)," Jay says.

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Heavy Drapes

Thick velvet drapes might have seemed like a great idea, but they've shrouded your living room in darkness and almost immediately attracted all the dust in your home. Every time you look at them, your heart sinks. "Generally, the heavier your furniture and window treatments are, the heavier the atmosphere feels," says Laura Benko, holistic design expert and author of The Holistic Home: Feng Shui for Mind Body Spirit Space. "There are certain times when a space calls for a substantial, weightier drape, but choose your window coverings carefully and remember, "light and airy" will make you feel light and airy!"

While you're thinking about replacing the curtains, it's better to be a little more realistic about the time you have available for cleaning and caring for your purchase. "Any material that is high maintenance will weigh you down with constant upkeep reminders, which have a negative impact on your mood, so before you purchase blinds that need extensive washing or drapes that need costly dry cleaning, think twice," Benko says.

Jonas von der Hude

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The Wrong Color

"Color has a proven psychological impact on mood. We know that reds, orange and fiery tones are active and stimulating colors, blues and greens are more relaxing, and gray and beige are neutral," Benko says. But she also stresses the importance of choosing a color you love, rather than one that's trendy. "Say you have a specific association with red —you can't stand it. Then that overrides the general consensus whose telling you what to paint your home," she says.

If you've chosen a palette of beige because it seemed like a safe choice, but are now dreading spending any time in that room, a few bright accessories in your favorite color can tide you over until it's time to repaint.

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Broken Items

Every time you open the cabinet, there it is: The broken vintage teacup that you curse yourself for dropping, but still haven't gotten around to fixing. It might be past repair, but you still hesitate throwing it out. "My theory is that it's a feeling of lack," says Anjie Cho, architect, certified feng shui consultant and founder of Holistic Spaces. "We're scared of not having enough, it's a poverty mentality. Which really is about not feeling "enough" or worthy in ourselves. The fear of letting go of things."

Cho says that it's also about the fear of having to not just let go, but also having to buy something again if it turns out we needed it after all. It's an overall exhausting mental process to go through whenever you see the item in question. "Cultivating the poverty mentality only perpetuates it, and surrounding yourself with broken items creates a similar broken energy in our inner and outer lives. It also creates an huge energy drain. Like every time you see that broken item that needs refinishing, you start to feel guilt," she says.

Judy Davidson

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That Heap of Old Papers

The worst thing about a pile of paperwork is knowing just how all over the place its contents can be, encompassing anything from W2s from several jobs ago to cards from past holidays. "Paperwork is overwhelming and tedious. Old greeting cards and correspondence is often just like broken items, it represents old memories that people are afraid to let go," says Collette Shine, professional organizer and founder of Organize and Shine. "Big piles of paper clutter can bring on anxiety, feelings of being overwhelmed, shame and definitely stress. It is also hard to attack a large backlog of paper clutter, it is often time consuming."

Breaking the pile down in easier-to-tackle chunks can help deal with the overwhelming feelings. Still having trouble? Have a friend help you sort through the pile.